Showcase construction



A. w. ZIMMERLA 2,825,615

SHOWCASE CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 27, 1956 March 4, 1958 A zs flan/a? m Z/MMEZ/Q INVENTOR.

FIG. 4-. +2

jrraz/vfy United States Patent O SHOWCASE CONSTRUCTION Arthur; W. Zimmerla, .Los. Angeles, Calif.

Application December 27, 1956, Seri'alNo. 630,901

6. Claims. (Cl..312-1.40)

This. inventionrelates: to glass cases for-usein displaying merchandisezin stores. and more: particularly to a ver-' ticallcornen post. constructiomfbra: showcase.

In thespast; it hasbeenthe practice to employ a verticali corner post including a; recess side toreceive the verticahedgeof: a side panel whichmaybewmad'ei oii glass, and an. adjacent side recessedt to receive a pair of sliding doors normally: used inv showcases; Imthis'construction, the recessed side. toreceiveithe glass: panel with two other outer sides of the corner: post. arecall rolled or" extruded in one piece. The opening at the side of the showcase adjacentthevertical edges: of a pair of sliding doors is enclosediby asheet metal strip whichis welded to-flanges extending vertically, perpendicularly, and inwardly toward: each other: from opposite sides of the" onepiece unittformingthe three sides=of the corner post: In the use: of this: corner post, a memberof a: u-shaped cross section is welded to the: side/oi the-post having the recess for the glass panel. This member is slotted to provide means by which: shelf hangers may ber'remov-ably secured to the corner. post,

ln'theamanufacture.ofthistype of corner post, it is necessary to roll or extrude threesides-of it in one piece as;aniintegraljbody'andifix the=closing strip toit: In-ad dition, itis necessary to. weld the U-shapedmember to the appropriate side of the U shaped' body to provide means which shelfhangers may be hung therefrom. The U-:shaped:ib.odyis: preferably are welded tothe integral three sided body forming the principal portion of the corner: post.

This-prior: art construction and method offabricati'on isnmdesirable. for-several reasons. ln'the first place, the structure is' complicated? and therefore expensive inlabor requirementforv bothitsmanufactureaand assembly. It issailsoexpensive in materials; Furthermore, itiscompli catedzlooking' andnot as pleasing in appearance area show case. should be. especially.

Theduvention overcomes these and other disadvantages of the prior art by *proy-iding 'in a showcase having 'para'llela vertica l'islid ing .doorsandavertically positione'd panel a vertical corner: post-construction comprising-"a vertically disposedinternalwmember of-asheet material including a vertica-lsl'otthrough itto'receiveashelfhanger, thebody having a lapped end portion at one end with a first flange extending rearwardly and'perpendicularlyto it andispaced fnor-n: the end: oisaid" lapped end portion, the internal membersa'lso' including an oifset portion at its other end; a vertically disposed external member bent at-an angle of 9Gi"and therebyhavingsid'e and backportions to form theicorner-"ofi the post' and havingsecond and third lapping endiportionsrat'each of its ends: with corresponding second and; third: flangesr extending sideways: and forwardly respectively? perpendieular to the side: and back portions; the-:ssecondflangcz lapping and being fiired'to the oflsetportion preferaby by means ofi arc welds: or countersunk metahscrews in a: manner toreceive an adiacent vertical edgehflfilthfii panel; and means to maintain thefirst and 2,825,615 iatented Mar. 4,, 1958 2. thirdi flanges in fixed relative positions wherebyth'e first and third lapping edge portions of the internal and" ex= ternal members arepositioned toreceive adjacent vertical edges of the sliding doors;

This construction is economical and'pleasingin appearance. Specifically; the corner postmay'be made of? two or three pieces depending upon whether the first or'third flanges are made long enough to weld together themselves; The second flange is weld'edto the ofiset'portion in amanner such: that the recess formed thereby to receive the vertical edge of the glass panel actually hides the conuec= tion" between these members; It is desirable that these members be welded together rather than be" made of one piece because the slots" in the internal member, i. e. internal of the showcase; could not otherwise be formed therein. Specifically, if all members are extruded, it is impossible to form the'sl'ots in an; integral piece having a U-shaped" cross section which both; the internal and"ex.- ternal mem'bers wouldformif made of one integral piece. Furthermore, if the internal and externalmembers were made integral and were rolled into shape, punching of slots through: the-internahmem'ber could cause substantial deformation thereof.

To thepresenttime, apparently the trade has not attempted to make the internal and" external members of separate pieces inthat' no'possible way was conceivedlas to make a-strong connection therebetween and stillimake the corner post reasonably'pleasingin appearance. It is to'be-noted'in' this respect that the invention provides this feature and that the internal" member is welid'ed'or fixed by=rnetai screws to the external member. The-welds are preferably made in1a recess provided for the vertically. extending edge ofa side panel and. thereby are. hidden.

In tlii's'sa-me regard; it shouldbe noted'that preferably the'second-l'appedend portion is spaced from the edge oi the oliset portion and that are welds are. positioned be.- tween the' edge ofitheofiset portion and the secondtfl'ange filling at leasta portion of the space between the. second Iappede-nd portion. theoffset'portion at least at two points along their'l'ength: In this casegeither the secondflange or theotiset portion ofthe internal member may restflat or flush against the vertical edgev of the. side panel'andtprea vent-any damage to him theevent it is made ofglass.v It will, of course, usually be made of glass.

According to another feature of the invention, alongis tudinal sheet member is positioned" internally from. one corner of the postat the thirdfla'nge to an oppositecorner of the" post at the second flange tokeep wires located therein separate" and apart from any projecting portion of the shelf" hanger extending through the slot intolhe interior ofthe' post.

According to stilf another feature of the invention, the strip normally-is made of a hat" unstressed.bendable resilient sheet material of a width greater than the; dis.- tance between" the second". and third fl'anges,, wherebyit maybe inserted'inthe' postii'n an arcuatel'y bentpositibn. and retained therein by its. own tendency to resume. its normally flat shape.

It is therefore an object" of the invention. to provide an improvedvertical. corner" post" construction. fbr. a showcase.

It another obfe'cti, of the invention to provide. an economical constru'ctibn; for-the vertical corner post ofi a showcase:

It" is a still further objectoffthe invention toprovide a strong-vertical corner post showcase construction which is'plc asing in appearance;

These and otherobj'ects andiadvantages of'thepresent. invention willbe' better'und'erstood when considered with the following description taken in connection with. the accompanying: drawings made a part of' this specification, wherein several embodiments are illustrated by way of example. The device of the present invention is by no means limited to the specifiic embodiments illustrated in the drawings since they are shown merely for purposes of description.

Fig. l is a perspective view of a showcase embodying the vertical corner post of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the vertical corner post of the invention taken on the line 22 shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken sectional view of the corner post shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a broken away sectional view of the corner post illustrating the function of a slot extending into the interior of it; and

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the corner post of the present invention.

In the drawing in Fig. 1 a showcase is shown having rear vertical corner posts 12, a section of one of which is shown in Fig. 2.

Corner post 12 is a hollow post and includes an internal member 14, i. e. which is internal of the showcase 10, which is provided with a first flange 16 extending perpendicular to a body portion 18 of the external member 14, body portion 18 having a lapping end portion 20 at its left end and an offset portion 22 at its right end. The portion 18 is also provided with a vertically extending rectangular slot 24 approximately at its center.

A shelf hanger 26 is shown in Fig. 3 extending through the slot 24 into the interior of the corner post 12. An external member 28 is also shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 providing principal body portion of the corner post 12 including a side portion 30, a back portion 32, side portion 30 having a lapping end portion 34 with a flange 36 extending perpendicularly to the portion 30 and being disposed immediately adjacent otfset portion 22 of external member 14, offset portion 22 being positioned immediately adjacent the vertical edge 38 of a side glass panel 40. It can be seen that an edge 42 of offset portion 22 is spaced from lapping portion 34 and a weld 44 is provided therebetween. For this reason, offset portion 22 and weld 44 may be made flush to the end 38 of glass panel 40 to prevent damage thereto. The position of weld 44 relative to the positions of offset portion 22 and lapping end portion 34 also provide a strong corner post construction which is also pleasing in appearance, the weld 44 generally being hidden from the exterior of the showcase 10.

In Fig. 2 it can be seen that portions 30 and 32 are disposed at right angles with each other to form the vertical corner edge of the post 12.

Back side 32 is provided at its end with a third lapping end portion 46 which has a corresponding third flange extending toward flange 16. A strip 50 is then welded to each of the flanges 16 and 48 at least at two points along its length indicated by 52 and 54 respectively. Strip 50 with internal member 14 and external member 28 thus enclose the post 12. Sprayed flocked felt material or resilient material in sheet form indicated at 56 is preferably provided on and over strip 50 and welds 52 and 54 to prevent sliding doors indicated at 58 and 60 from noisily jamming against strip 50.

Interiorly of the post 12, sheet member 62 is provided extending from second flange 36 to third flange 48 for the purpose of separating electrical wires indicated at 64 from an inwardly extending portion 66 of shelf hanger 26. Sheet 62 also preferably is provided with a set screw 68 threadedly disposed therethrough in engagement with a conduit 70 for the wires 64 to maintain the conduit 70 in a selected fixed vertical position extending upwardly through the post 12 in the space between sheet 62 and external member 28. The manner in which hanger 26 is to be inserted in slot'24 is indicated in the exploded view ofFig. 4

An alternative construction of the post'12 is shown in Fig. 5 including an inner member 14 substantially 76 4 identical with the internal member 14 shown in Fig. 2 except for the first flange 16' which extends rearwardly toward a forwardly extending third flange 48' of external member 28 to lap it. The lapping portion of third flange 48' is then welded to first flange 16' at at least two vertically spaced welds indicated at 72 in Fig. 5.

The panel 40 and sliding doors 58 and 60 shown in Fig. 5 are identical with those shown in Fig. 2. Electrical wires 64 are also identical. However, preferably a sheet 74 is provided, the sheet being made of a normally flat unstressed relatively stiff bendable but resilient sheet metal material of a width greater than the distance between third flange 48 and an offset 22' of internal member 14 or second flange 36' of external member 12, whereby sheet 74 may be inserted into the interior of the post 12 in an arcuately bent position and retained therein by its own tendency to resume its normally flat shape. Sheet 74 assheet 62, prevents interference of the interior portion 66 of shelf hanger 26 with electrical wiring 64.

It is to be noted that the end of second flange 36' is fixed to offset 22 by means of feld 44 between a rearwardly extending part 76 of portion 18. It is to be noted in this case that the position of weld 44 is not critical in the invention although its position in Fig. 3 is preferred since it is extremely unlikely that it can be noticed when the showcase 10 is viewed from its exterior.

Of course countersunk metal screws may be substituted for all of the welds.

Other changes and modifications of the invention will of course suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and, although only two specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto and the scope thereof is not thereby defined but is only defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a showcase having parallel vertical sliding doors and a vertically positioned glass panel, a vertical corner post construction comprising: a vertically disposed internal member of a sheet material including at least one vertical slot through it to receive a shelf hanger, said body having a lapped end portion at one end with a first flange extending rearwardly and perpendicularly to it and spaced from the end of said lapped end portion, said internal member also including an offset portion at its other end, a vertically disposed external member bent at an angle of and thereby having side and back portions to form the corner of said post and having second and third lapping end portions at each of its ends with corresponding second and third flanges extending sideways and forwardly respectively perpendicular to said side and back portions, said second flange lapping and being fixed to said offset portion in a manner to receive an adjacent vertical edge of said glass panel, and means to maintain said first and third flanges in fixed relative positions wherebysaid first and third lapping edge portions of said internal and external members are positioned to receive adjacent vertical edges of said sliding doors.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said second lapped end portion is spaced from the edge of said offset portion and arc welds are positioned between the edge of said offset portion and said second flange filling at least a portion of the space between said second lapped end portion and said offset portion at least at two points along their length.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein a longitudinal dividing strip is positioned internally from one corner of said post at said third flange to an opposite corner of said post at said second flange to keep wires located therein separated and spaced apart from any projecting portion of said shelf hanger extending through said slot into the interior of said post.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3, wherein said connecting means is a sheet metal connecting strip extending along the length of said post and welded at at least two points along each edge thereof to said first and third flanges, respectively, said connecting strip being disposed between the adjacent vertical edges of said sliding doors and said first and third flanges and having its ends spaced from said first and third lapping end portions, said welds between said strip and said first and third flanges thereby occupying at least a portion of the space between the edges of said strip and said first and third lapping end portions, said members and said connecting strip being made of steel, said offset portion being positioned immediately adjacent a vertical edge of said panel and said second flange being positioned immediately adjacent said offset portion and thereby being spaced from the edge of said panel, said second lapped end portion being spaced from the edge of said offset portion and are welds positioned between the edge of said offset portion and said second flange filling at least a portion of the space between said second lapped end portion and said oflset portion at least at two points along their length, and wherein the following are additionally provided: padding material covering the side of said post provided by said first and third flanges and said strip, a conduit extending upwardly in said post between said dividing strip and said external member, and a set screw threaded through said dividing strip and positioned to engage said conduit to fix it in a selected vertical position.

5. The invention as defined in claim 3, wherein said dividing strip is made of a normally flat unstressed bendable resilient sheet material of a width greater than the distance between said second and third flanges, whereby it may be inserted in said post in an arcuately bent position and retained therein by its own tendency to resume its normally flat shape.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5, wherein said first and third flanges overlap and are welded together at least at two points along their length, one of said first and third lapping end portions being spaced from the edge of a flange corresponding to the other, said welds being made between said edge and an adjacent flange and thereby filling at least a portion of the space between said edge and said lapping end portion, said dividing strip being made of steel, said second flange being spaced from a portion of said body extending rearwardly to said oflset portion of said body, said second flange and said offset portion being fixed together by welds between the edge of said second flange and said oflset portion occupying at least a portion of space between the edge of said second flange and said rearwardly extending part of said offset portion, said second flange being positioned immediately adjacent said panel and said offset portion being positioned immediately adjacent said flange and being spaced from said panel thereby, said members being made of a sheet material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,846,485 Hart Feb. 23, 1932 2,336,416 Parker Dec. 7, 1943 2,463,128 Vanderveld Mar. 1, 1949 2,765,886 Tedaldi Oct. 9, 1956 

